Sunday, January 30, 2011

Maillard Reaction

"The Maillard reaction (pronounced may-YAR) is a chemical reaction between an amino acid and a reducing sugar, usually requiring heat. It is vitally important in the preparation or presentation of many types of food, and, like caramelization, is a form of non-enzymatic browning. The reaction is named after the chemist Louis-Camille Maillard who first described it in the 1910s while attempting to reproduce biological protein synthesis, although it has been used in practical cooking since prehistoric times."
(quoted from Wikipedia)